| 334 | 335 | 336 | 337 | 338 |
| 1 | 133 | 265 | 398 | 530 |
|
'No, not so bad as that.'
'
I thank God!' cried the single gentleman feebly. 'Let me come in.'
They drew back to admit him, and when he had entered, closed the
door.
'You see in me, good people,' he said, turning to the newly- married
couple, 'one to whom life itself is not dearer than the two persons
whom I seek. They would not know me. My features are strange to
them, but if they or either of them are here, take this good woman
with you, and let them see her first, for her they both know. If you
deny them from any mistaken regard or fear for them, judge of my
intentions by their recognition of this person as their old humble
friend.'
'
I always said it!' cried the bride, 'I knew she was not a common child!
Alas, sir! we have no power to help you, for all that we could do, has
been tried in vain.'
With that, they related to him, without disguise or concealment, all
that they knew of Nell and her grandfather, from their first meeting
with them, down to the time of their sudden disappearance; adding
(
which was quite true) that they had made every possible effort to
trace them, but without success; having been at first in great alarm
for their safety, as well as on account of the suspicions to which they
themselves might one day be exposed in consequence of their abrupt
departure. They dwelt upon the old man's imbecility of mind, upon the
uneasiness the child had always testified when he was absent, upon
the company he had been supposed to keep, and upon the increased
depression which had gradually crept over her and changed her both
in health and spirits. Whether she had missed the old man in the
night, and knowing or conjecturing whither he had bent his steps,
had gone in pursuit, or whether they had left the house together, they
had no means of determining. Certain they considered it, that there
was but slender prospect left of hearing of them again, and that
whether their flight originated with the old man, or with the child,
there was now no hope of their return. To all this, the single
gentleman listened with the air of a man quite borne down by grief
and disappointment. He shed tears when they spoke of the
grandfather, and appeared in deep affliction.
Not to protract this portion of our narrative, and to make short work
of a long story, let it be briefly written that before the interview came
to a close, the single gentleman deemed he had sufficient evidence of
having been told the truth, and that he endeavoured to force upon the
bride and bridegroom an acknowledgment of their kindness to the
unfriended child, which, however, they steadily declined accepting. In
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